Ukrainian and Russian athletes are scheduled to start a World Cup men's luge race in consecutive order on Saturday, meaning it is almost certain that athletes from those nations will cross paths at least near the start of the track.
The start order for the race in Lake Placid, New York, was posted Thursday. Ukraine's Andriy Mandziy will be the second starter down the hill at Mount Van Hoevenberg, and he'll be immediately followed by Matvei Perestoronin — a Russian slider who is being allowed to compete as an independent neutral athlete.
That means Mandziy and Perestoronin will be in close proximity to one another at the top of the track, and probably again somewhere in the finish area once their first runs Saturday are complete. It also raises the likelihood that coaches from Ukraine and Russia may interact.
The start order for the race worked out that way because of how the order of finish played out from Thursday's Nations Cup race in Lake Placid, a one-heat qualifier for the World Cup competition. The first five starting spots in the World Cup race went to the top five finishers from the Nations Cup race, in reverse order.
Nations Cup winner Jonny Gustafson of the U.S. will start fifth and Nations Cup runner-up Tucker West of the U.S. will start fourth. Perestoronin was third and Mandizy fourth, meaning they'll be next to one another on the start sheet Saturday. Italy's Lukas Peccei was fifth in Nations Cup, so he'll be the first one down the hill.
Russia hoped to send six athletes to this World Cup weekend in Lake Placid; three lost their eligibility after new evidence was presented to the International Luge Federation suggesting that they were not neutral about the war that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The three Russian sliders that remain in the field — Perestoronin and Pavel Repilov on the men's side, Daria Olesik on the women's side — all qualified for the World Cup races to essentially keep their hopes of reaching the Milan Cortina Olympics alive.
The three remaining Russians have been training in Lake Placid this week, but in separate groups from the Ukrainians.
The International Olympic Committee wants Russian athletes to have the opportunity to compete as neutrals in some individual sports at Milan Cortina. There are Russian sliders trying to qualify in men's luge, women's luge, men's skeleton, women's skeleton and women's monobob — but not in any team sports such as a luge doubles event, or any bobsled race involving two- or four-person teams.
It's expected that a contingent of Ukraine fans will be at the races this weekend, given Lake Placid's deep ties to the sliding community from that country. There have been numerous efforts by people in Lake Placid to send help to Ukrainians during the war, and the village has even raised the Ukrainian flag at times as a show of support.
Some Ukrainian sliders took part in a walk of support alongside Lake Placid residents on Wednesday night down one of the Olympic village's main streets, carrying flags along with signs denouncing Russia's aggression.
The women's singles race on Friday and the men's singles race on Saturday will be the first World Cup competitions that Russians have been allowed to enter since the 2021-22 season, or just before the war started. Russian sliders did compete in a test event at the Cortina d'Ampezzo track last month and those results counted toward their Olympic qualifying bids, but those were not considered World Cup races.
The race in Lake Placid is the third of five races that will count toward Olympic qualifying, and the Russians need some results to enhance their odds of grabbing a berth for Milan Cortina. The last two qualifying races for luge are in Latvia and Germany, and Russians may have difficulty getting visas for those countries.
At Sigulda, Latvia, Belgium’s Kim Meylemans won a World Cup women’s skeleton race Thursday, the first of two such events on this weekend’s schedule.
Britain’s Tabitha Stoecker was second and Austria’s Janine Flock was third. The U.S. struggled again, with its top finishers — Mystique Ro and Kelly Curtis — tying for 15th.
Luge: Men's doubles, women's doubles and women's singles World Cup races Friday at Lake Placid.
Bobsled: Women's monobob and men's two-man World Cup races Saturday at Sigulda.
Skeleton: Men's and women's World Cup races Friday at Sigulda.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Russian luge athletes Matvei Perestoronin, right, and Pavel Repilov, left, get ready for a training run in Lake Placid, N.Y., Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Russian luge athlete Daria Olesik relaxes after finishing a qualifying race to compete in a Luge World Cup event in Lake Placid, N.Y., Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Russian athlete Matvei Perestoronin finishes a qualifying race to compete in a Luge World Cup event in Lake Placid, N.Y., Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Las Vegas (2-12) at Houston (9-5)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, CBS.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Texans by 14½.
Against the spread: Raiders 5-9; Texans 8-6.
Series record: Texans lead 8-5.
Last meeting: Raiders beat Texans 38-20 on Oct. 23, 2022, at Las Vegas.
Last week: Raiders lost to the Eagles 31-0 at Philadelphia; Texans beat Cardinals 40-20 at Houston.
Raiders offense: overall (32), rush (32), pass (29), scoring (32).
Raiders defense: overall (16), rush (17), pass (16), scoring (25).
Texans offense: overall (19), rush (23), pass (14), scoring (17).
Texans defense: overall (1), rush (4), pass (4), scoring (1).
Turnover differential: Raiders minus-4; Texans plus-14.
LB Devin White. He is having his best season in several years. His 149 tackles are second only to Miami’s Jordyn Brooks, who has 155. White also has 10 tackles for loss, the second-highest total of his career. He had 15 in 2020 while playing for Tampa Bay.
QB C.J. Stroud. He had what coach DeMeco Ryans called his best game of the season against the Cardinals. Stroud completed 22 of 29 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 137.1 in his third game back after missing three after a concussion. It was the first game of his career in which he had at least 250 yards passing, three touchdowns and a 75% completion percentage and his passer rating was the third highest of his career.
The Raiders’ offensive line vs. Houston DEs Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. Las Vegas has allowed an NFL-high 54 sacks this season and Geno Smith, who missed last week with an injury, has been sacked 49 times, which is the most by a single player. The Texans rank eighth in the NFL with 38 sacks, led by Hunter and Anderson who have combined for 22 1/2.
Raiders: Smith (shoulder and back) could return this week. ... T Kolton Miller (ankle) is practicing again this week, but whether he plays is yet to be decided.
Texans: DT Mario Edwards Jr. ruptured a pectoral muscle and is out for the season. ... CB Derek Stingley injured an oblique against the Cardinals and missed practice this week. ... RB Woody Marks is dealing with a nagging ankle injury that kept him out of portions of Sunday’s game. ... RB Nick Chubb missed Sunday’s game with a rib injury, but could return Sunday.
Houston won the first three games in the series and five of the first six. ... The Raiders won two in a row after that stretch. ... The Texans won two in a row before losing the most recent meeting, including a 27-14 victory in an AFC wild-card game in 2017.
The Raiders have lost eight in a row and 12 of 13. They had a 10-game losing streak last season. ... Las Vegas is currently in the second draft position. … The Raiders are the first team to go six games in a row with 17 or fewer points and fewer than 275 yards since Cleveland in 2008. It’s the first time the Raiders have had such a stretch. ... Brock Bowers has 171 receptions, the highest number for any tight end through his first 28 games. His 1,841 yards receiving are second to Pro Football Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow’s 1,887. ... S Jeremy Chinn is the eighth defensive back since 1982 with six consecutive seasons with at least one sack. ... A victory would give Las Vegas coach Pete Carroll 173 for his career, which would move him into a tie for 16th with Jeff Fisher. Carroll is currently tied with Bill Parcells. ... The Texans have won six straight games for their longest winning streak since winning nine in a row in 2018. ... RB Jawhar Jordan had 101 yards rushing in his NFL debut last week after being on the team’s practice squad since last season. ... TE Dalton Schultz had eight receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown last week. ... LB Azeez Al-Shaair led the team with a season-high 12 tackles against the Cardinals. He has had at least five tackles in seven straight games. ... LB Henry To’oTo’o had 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss last week. ... Jalen Pitre, Calen Bullock, Kamari Lassiter have four interceptions each to give the Texans three players with at least four for the first time in franchise history. ... Lassiter had five tackles, two passes defensed and an interception against Arizona. He ranks fourth in the AFC with 14 passes defensed this season. ... Stingley had three tackles and his first tackle for loss last week. He had five tackles in his last game against the Raiders.
Houston’s Nico Collins had his first two-touchdown performance of the season last week against the Cardinals and had 85 yards receiving to give him a third straight 1,000-yard season. He scores most of his touchdowns at home, with 18 of his 24 career scores coming in Houston.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Denver Broncos tight end Evan Engram (1) runs against Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Devin White (45) during the second half of an NFL football game in Las Vegas, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) smiles as he celebrates a touchdown catch against the Arizona Cardinals by Texans wide receiver Nico Collins, left, during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) passes against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game in Las Vegas, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)
